The Barin uprising or Barin riot (see also § Names) was an armed conflict between Uyghur militants and Chinese government forces from 4 to 10 April 1990 in the township of Barin (or Baren) in Xinjiang, China. Violence began on the evening of 4 April, when a group of 200 to 300 Uyghur men attempted to breach the gates of the local government office in a protest against forced abortions of Uyghur women and Chinese rule in Xinjiang. The arrival of 130 armed police to quell the unrest was immediately met with armed resistance by militants among the crowd. Initial clashes that evening left six policemen dead and 13 wounded. The militants also captured five policemen, while the armed police captured 19 militants.
The armed police called for reinforcements from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) the next day, following two failed attempts at negotiations and a prisoner exchange. The uprising ended shortly after the arrival of Chinese reinforcements, with most militants surrendering but some fleeing to the Kunlun Mountains. The escaped militants were all eventually captured by the PLA from 6 to 10 April. Analysts and scholars generally consider the Barin uprising to be a watershed moment in Xinjiang's history which caused the Chinese government to tighten its policies in the region.
Names
Supporters of the East Turkestan independence movement generally prefer the name "Barin uprising" (), while supporters of the Chinese government prefer the name "Barin riot" (). The Chinese government's official name for the conflict is the "Counter-revolutionary armed riot in Barin Township, Akto County" (). The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile describes the events as the "Barin revolution" () or "Barin massacre". A seldom used neutral name for the conflict in Chinese is the "Barin incident" ().
Prelude
Because of the Chinese state's restrictions on the flow of information out of Xinjiang, detailed accounts of the Barin uprising have relied heavily or entirely on sources published by the Chinese government itself. A Chinese government editorial published in 2004 claims that the East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIP), a clandestine organisation founded in Barin in 1989, held four major planning meetings in the months prior to the uprising, one of which was devoted to the procurement of supplies, including weapons and uniforms. At the fourth meeting held on 25 March 1990, Zeydun Yusup was designated as the group's commander-in-chief, Abduhani Tursun as the deputy commander-in-chief, and Jamal Mehmut as the military commander. The ETIP allegedly ran a training camp for militants toward the end of March 1990, and raised funds for weapons and vehicles by robbing local Bingtuan.
The editorial, as well as an internal report written by the Chinese government immediately after the uprising, identified Zeydun Yusup as the ETIP's leader. The Chinese government claims that Yusup and the ETIP wanted to seize Barin to set up a militant stronghold from which they could establish a third East Turkistan Republic.
Timeline
The following timeline is based on an internal report by the Chinese government written immediately after the uprising and subsequently leaked to the foreign press.
4 April
On the evening of 4 April 1990, Yusup led a group of 200 to 300 Uyghur men to the local government office in Barin, initially to protest against the forced abortions of local Uyghur women. The group then began to shout anti-communist and pro-independence slogans, such as "Down with socialism", "Marxism suppressed Islam, now it is our turn to suppress Marxism", and "Take Barin, establish Eastern Turkistan". At 6:30 pm (Xinjiang Time) armed militants among the group began attacking the gates of the office in an attempt to breach them. A detachment of 130 armed police was deployed to quell the unrest; it was immediately ambushed by the militants upon arriving in the vicinity of Barin. The militants killed six policemen, wounded 13, and captured five; a number of rifles and rounds of ammunition were also taken. The armed police meanwhile captured 19 militants.
5 April
At midnight on 5 April 1990, the militants proposed a prisoner exchange, but the armed police only agreed to open a dialogue with Yusup. Negotiations ultimately failed and, at approximately 4:10 am, the militants began throwing grenades and firing at the armed police. The armed police returned fire, killing Yusup at 4:44 am.